Oct 1 The Week in Crypto: Sept. 23-Sept. 29

Ripple (XRP) has nearly doubled in value this month on the back of expectations surrounding the launch of xRapid, a low-cost liquidity solution for emerging markets, and xVia, an international consumer to bank transfer system. Ripple reports having over 120 banks with confirmed partnerships, including (in varying capacities) American Express, Western Union, and the Santander Group

Austria to Issue $1.3 Billion Bond Using Ethereum

The Austrian Government is slated to use the Ethereum blockchain for tracking and notary purposes in a $1.3 billion gov. bond auction. The Austrian finance ministry accounted Austrian Bank Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) will carry the auction. As part of this responsibility, the bank will be responsible for authenticating and storing transaction data on the Ethereum blockchain. OeKB board member Angelika Sommer-Hemetsberger noted the bank has tested several prototypes in anticipation of overseeing the issuance.

Coinbase announces introduction of “Coinbase Bundles”

Coinbase announced this week the introduction of Coinbase Bundles, a basket of five cryptocurrencies allocated in proportion to their market cap (measured in USD). The five currencies will be Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Ethereum Classic (ETC). Minimum purchase size will be set at $25.

Grupo XP, Brazil’s largest domestic brokerage firm announced last week plans to launch a Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading platform by the end of 2018. The platform will provide BTC and ETH access to the 3 million+ investors who utilize Grupo XP for their brokerage services. CEO Guilherme Benchimol explained that while he personally is not found of the cryptocurrency revolution, his company feels required to develop crypto-related offerings as a result of growing consumer demand.